This overhaul of the hit point mechanic intends to take a step towards a more realistic interpretation of damage,

seeking to distinguish the varying grades of wear and tear a well-fleshed-out character would encounter in a
D&D 3.5e system.

Wear and Tear

A creatures hit points (hp) are calculated as per the core rules, and are equal to the sum of its hit dice (HD) plus
its Constitution modifier multiplied by its number of HD. Hit points can represent
the amount of abuse a creature can withstand before actually suffering serious injuries
the measure of its fighting resilience, borne by gritty experience, allowing it to turn direct hits into
glancing blows or grazes
to a lesser extent, physical and mental durability, will to live, and luck.
and are lost as a result of struggling through combat or enduring harsh conditions. A creature with lost hp is worn.
A creatures vitality points (vp) are equal to its current Constitution score. Vitality points represent the
magnitude of injuries a creature can take before succumbing to them and they are lost as a result of suffering
wounds like bleeding cuts and broken bones. A creature with lost vp is bloody.
Damage dealt to a creature applies to its hit points first. Once a creatures hit points are reduced to 0, it can no
more avoid taking true physical damage. Hit points cannot be reduced below 0; any damage that would cause a
creatures hit point total to drop below 0 simply begins consuming its vitality points instead.
A creature with 0 hit points becomes fatigued. It cant run or charge and takes a 2 penalty to Strength and
Dexterity until it has rested for 8 hours (or until its hit points return to a positive number, whichever occurs
first).
A creature with 0 vitality points is disabled. It can only take a single move or standard action each turn, but
performing any standard action (or any other activity the DM deems as strenuous) deals 1 hit point of damage
after the action is completed (therefore, if the creature still has hit points remaining it does not automatically
drop to the dying condition).
A creature with less than 0 vitality points may be unconscious and may be dying (see Death and Dying below).
Nonlethal hits dealt to a creature deduct points from its hp as if they dealt lethal damage (or more correctly,
due to the new nature of hp it is actually the lethal hp damage that is treated as nonlethal).
Nonlethal damage is still recorded as a separate variable however (as per the core rules) only when nonlethal
hits apply to vitality points. A creature whose nonlethal damage equals its current vp becomes staggered.
A creature whose nonlethal damage exceeds its current vp becomes unconscious, unless it succeeds on a Will
save (dc 10 + amount by which the nonlethal damage exceeds its vp).

Injury optional rule

Every time a creature is dealt vitality point damage from any source, it must succeed on a Fortitude save against
the injury dc (= 10 + vp damage dealt) or be staggered for 1 round and suffer an injury determined from the
following table:
d12

Effect

Internal Injury. Whenever you attempt a strenuous action, you must roll a Fortitude save or Concentration
check (injury dc), or cause the action to fail.

2-3

Numb Arm. You have to succeed in a Fortitude save (injury dc) to make use of your wounded arm in
an action, or cause the action to fail.

4-5

Limp. You have to succeed in a Fortitude save (injury dc) to move up to your land speed. If you fail
the save you stop your movement in a random square in its course and must succeed a dc10 Balance
check to avoid falling prone there.

6-8

Not the face. You suffer a blow to the head which may drip blood into your eyes, rip your mouth,
dislocate your jaw, knock out your teeth or break your nose. Determine and roleplay it properly.

9-12

It hurts. You are just staggered for 1 round. That is all.

If the creature fails the save by 10 or more, it becomes staggered for 1+1d4 rounds and the injury is determined
from this table instead:
d12

Effect

Lose an Eye. You take a -10 penalty on Spot checks, ranged attacks, and similar die rolls. If you have no
eyes left after sustaining this injury, you are blinded.

2-3

Lose an Arm or a Hand. You can no longer hold anything with two hands, and you can only hold a single
object at a time.

4-5

Lose a Foot or Leg. Your land speed is halved, and you must use a cane or crutch to move unless you have
a pegleg or other prosthesis. You fall prone after taking the run or charge action. You take a -10 penalty
on Balance, Jump, and Tumble checks and a -5 on Climb checks.

6-8

Lose 1d4 Fingers. You take a -1/-2/-5 penalty (depending on fingers lost) on attack rolls and skill checks
solely making use of the hand in question, as well as a 10%/25%/50% failure chance while casting spells
with somatic components involving that hand. Losing four fingers makes all the above impossible.

9-12

Major artery. You lose 1 vp every minute this wound persists. This can be halted with a successful dc20
Heal check.

Every time one of the above injury is sustained, its specific injury dc is recorded. Any injury will linger until the
creature heals enough vp to reverse the damage that caused them (injury dc 10). Lost limbs and appendages
can only grow back by virtue of a Regenerate spell.

Criticals
Critical threat ranges are unaffected.
In regard to hit point damage only,
critical multipliers are reduced by
one step (that is, x2 becomes x1, x3
becomes x2, and x4 becomes x3).

Upon scoring a critical hit,
a creature rolls its weapon damage once
and multiplies it by that reduced critical multiplier, dealing the resulting number to the targets hp.
if after that damage the targets hit point total is still above 0, it is dealt one tenth of the multiplied
critical damage (rounded down, minimum 1) to its vitality points as well.
if after the hp damage the target has no hp left, it is dealt the originally rolled damage (as it was before
the multiplication) to its vp in addition to the damage it may already have suffered due to the first
portion of the critical burning through the remaining hp. (Effectively in this case, the critical damage
is calculated as per the core rules).

 Coup de Grace: A coup de grace functions normally in that it automatically hits and scores a critical hit,
with the exception that the rolled weapon damage is not divided by 10 when applied to the vp, even if the
targets hp total would still be above 0 after the blow. If the target creature survives the damage, it must make a
Fortitude save (dc 10 + the amount of total damage dealt) or die.
Massive Damage: The massive damage rule does not apply to this system.

Death and Dying

Dying condition: a dying creature has dropped to negative vp and is slowly bleeding out. On that creatures
turn each round it suffers this condition, it takes 1 Constitution damage and must roll:
a Will save (dc 10 + negative vp) to remain conscious
if the creature succeeds on the save, it drops helpless but is still conscious. At its option, it may also
roll a Balance check with the same dc to remain standing (once it fails this check, the creature may
not attempt to stand up again until the dying condition ceases).
if the creature fails the save, it drops unconscious and ceases to roll Will saves.
and a Fortitude save (dc 10 + negative vp) to improve its condition
if the creature fails the save or rolls a natural 1, it dies. If the blow that dropped it to negative vp was
critical, it dies instantly. If not, it dies in 1d12 rounds, and no amount of healing can affectit.
if the creature succeeds on the save, it does not die outright but it does not improve. It is still helpless,
bleeding out and must continue to roll Fortitude saves each round.
if the creature succeeds on the save by 10 or more, it becomes stable and helpless.
if the creature succeeds on the save by 20 or more or rolls a natural 20, it becomes stable and disabled.

A stable creature no longer suffers the dying condition until it takes damage.
First Aid: a creature that performs this special option on an adjacent fallen creature can roll a Heal check
to determine whether or not it is stable or dying (dc10) as a move action. If the subject is indeed dying, as a
standard action the healer can grant the subject a cumulative +1 bonus for every point by which the Heal check
exceeded 15 to its next death saving throw[s]. If, after taking either of the above two actions, the healer is still
adjacent to the subject when it rolls the death saving throws on its turn, the healer instantly knows the result.

Healing
After taking damage, a character can recover hp and vp through natural healing (over the course of hours or
days), or by magic. In any case, a character cant regain hp and vp above his full normal totals.
Natural Healing: Characters recover hp at a rate of 1 hp per hour per character level. With a full nights rest
(8 hours of sleep or more), a character recovers 1 vp per character level (minimum 1), or twice that amount with
complete bed rest for 24 hours. Any significant interruption during the rest period prevents the creature from
healing.

 Assisted Healing: A character who provides long-term care (see the Heal skill, ph75) doubles the rate at
which a wounded character recovers lost hp and vp.
Magical Healing: Spells that heal hp damage work somewhat differently in this system. For spells that heal
a variable amount of hp damage based on a die roll (such as Cure Light Wounds), apply the actual die roll as
restored hp, and any modifier to the die roll (such as caster level, for cure spells) as restored vp.
Spells or effects that return a number of hit points not based on a die roll, such as Heal or Lay on Hands, may
distribute the application to hp or vp at the casters discretion, restoring 1 hp per 1 point of healing and 1 vp per
5 points of healing.
Stabilizing a dying creature with magical healing can only be achieved if it restores enough damage to bring
the creature back to 0 vp, or restores all of the Constitution damage suffered as a result of the dying condition.
Blessed Bandages (mic152) are also adapted to substitute a use of the First Aid option by conferring a bonus to the
dying creatures next death saving throws (the market price for each equals 10 multiplied by the bonus squared).
Fast Healing only affects hp. Nonlethal damage is healed the same way hp damage is (regardless of the fact
it is now measured against vp).
Regeneration functions as normal in all aspects except it begins healing hp damage once it has wiped all
nonlethal damage. It still cannot restore hp lost by starvation, thirst, suffocation, or a bypassing damage source.

Miscellany
The simple hit point algorithm is one of the basic blocks upon which the 3.5e d20 system was built, and therefore
any modification upon it will inevitably affect countless other instances of rules and existing material elsewhere
in the system. It falls on the DM to examine and adapt any such case in a way that renders it compatible with
this overhaul.

Some individual rulings might be:
The Revivify spell may be cast on a creature with the dying condition, even if said creature failed its death
Fortitude save and is counting down rounds to croaking. In all other regards it functions as normal, stabilizing
the subject at -1 vp. A creature under the Delay Death spell cannot suffer the dying condition for as long as
the spell is active. It should, however, die instantly once it has about as many negative vp as its hp maximum,
because hey, its not a regenerative spell and enough is enough (that goes for you too, Frenzied Berserker).
A dying creature with the Diehard feat does not need to roll the Will saves to remain conscious and is merely
staggered whenever it would be helpless as a result of the dying condition. The Toughness feat confers vp
instead of hp. The Endurance feat grants a +4 bonus to death saving throws.
Sneak attacks, creatures with no Constitution score, bonus hp based on creature type, temporary hp, and damage
reduction are unaffected by this overhaul. Provided they possess a Constitution score, the Challenge Rating of
gargantuan or colossal creatures increases by +1, and creatures with fractional Challenge Rating move up to the
next highest fraction.
Disclaimer: Worn and Bloody has been alpha playtested within the workings of Amen campaign on two different groups of
NPCs (namely the Harper Task Force Rosewood and the Fellowship of the Long Journey; high and low levels respectively), prior to
being incorporated into the official sessions involving the PCs. The author of this overhaul bears no tresponsibility over any nasty
mutilation or brutal death that may befall any imaginary character, PC or NPC, while it is in effect. Blame your DM.

dm Silvestris Aens, November 2015